yuastnav wrote on Dec 16, 2012, 11:36:Moral superiority does not really exist

of course it exists.. its the basis of the entire right wing conservative platform.. marriage is only between man and woman, god says so, god created the universe so hes better than you, im on gods side so im better than you, etc.

its not "real" in the sense that its bullshit, but it still exists

yuastnav wrote on Dec 16, 2012, 11:36:Also, your logic is partly confusing to me.You claim that everyone is an egomaniac, i.e. that this is the default condition of a human being but you also call that a failing. So it's a failing by definition, i.e. society is actually not supposed to work by working?And by whose moral standards is it a failing? Yours? The society's?

morals are conditioned responses, man made laws, etc. they vary from culture to culture, from region to region - they are relative to a certain time and place

and yes, society is designed to foster selfishness in a way that keeps the powerful people large and in charge, that is the design that has been passed down through the millienia - now, the details on that would take many pages of writing to explain, and i dont really care to do that right now - but the basic point is to keep people fat and happy, keep them believing in what is now known as "the american dream", which is a farce - but is essentially based on that same "king of the hill" scramble to the top where you step on everything and everyone in your way.. for a great modern example, see: steve jobs

the failure is in terms of viability - long term sustainability - that is where it fails.. 6000 years is really not a long time, in terms of the survival of the species.. and the city-state methodolody is roughly that old.. at the current rate of population increase, consumption, pollution, etc. - it wont last another few hundred years

now, you may disagree with that projection - but no one can prove it one way or the other so it will have to remain a theory

but actually i think the most pressing concern for humanity is the AI singularity - once we design an AI that can upgrade itself much better than we can... thats a big deal IMO, and it could change the whole game in a big way